September 29, 2005
Jonas Dino
NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
Phone: 650/604-5612 or 650/604-9000
E-mail: jonas.dino@nasa.gov
RELEASE: 05_51AR
NASA MAKES EXPLORING MARS FROM THE SKIES A CLASSROOM REALITY
As NASA prepares for the future exploration of Mars, students on Earth
can now let their imagination and curiosity soar though the canyons
of Valles Marineris and over the top of Olympus Mons on the red
planet.
On Oct 1, 2005, NASA will release the latest classroom tool to excite
students in grades 5 to 8 about NASA's bold goal of a human mission
to Mars. 'Wings Over Mars', developed by the educational technology
team at NASA Ames Research Center, located in California's Silicon
Valley, is an interactive Website that will introduce the promising
concept of planetary flight on Mars.
"This exciting new project highlights the contribution aircraft can
play in NASA's human exploration mission," said Christina O'Guinn of
the NASA Ames educational technology team. "The project exposes
students to the benefits of planetary flight and engages them in the
engineering challenges of planetary flight on Mars."
"Mars aircraft can give scientists a perspective that is different
than that provided by rovers and orbiters, giving scientists a more
complete view of Mars," O'Guinn added.
The site includes background videos and animations that introduce
students to the engineering challenges of developing an airborne Mars
explorer, including the differences between flight on Earth and on
Mars and an introduction to aircraft design. To help support
students, the site has articles for additional information and a
section that will allow teachers to incorporate the information into
their classroom curriculum.
These resources will support future online NASA Quest Web challenges
in which students, with the help of NASA experts, explore various
engineering problems associated with designing a Mars airplane.
During these challenges, students tackle a design problem relating to
an actual NASA mission. Students work in teams on preliminary
solutions or designs as NASA experts answer questions and provide
'real-time' critiquing. The interaction with scientists occurs via
question-and-answer sessions, chats, interactive Webcasts, and posted
feedback on the Web site.
'Wings Over Mars' is funded by NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission
Directorate, Washington, DC, through the Aeronautics Education
Coordinating Committee to support the nation's Vision for Space
Exploration.
For more information about the Wings Over Mars Web site, visit:
http://wingsovermars.arc.nasa.gov
For more information about NASA Quest, visit:
http://quest.nasa.gov/
For more information about NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission
Directorate, visit:
http://aeronautics.nasa.gov/
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